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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2019)
Page 2 The Skanner Portland & Seattle January 9, 2019 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher A More Diverse Congress, a More Perfect Union? Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor T Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2018 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS d ay ! • L i ke u s o n F ebo m me • nts o k • learn • co TheSkannerNews Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist the poem was first published in Esquire Magazine in 1936. Though Hughes did not con- sider it one of his favorites, it captures the duality of our nation, the marked difference between our nation’s soar- ing establishing rhetoric and the stark reality that many “ No freedom in this home- land of the free, but this Congress of- fers freedom possibilities experience. In the words of Malcolm X, it is the difference between the American dream and the American night- mare. Here is what Langston Hughes writes in his poem: “Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pio- neer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was Ameri- ca to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed — Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was Amer- ica to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.” (There’s never been equali- ty for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) No freedom in this home- land of the free, but this Con- gress offers freedom possibil- ities. It offers the possibility of fixing the Voting Rights Act, even as the Supreme Court has attempted to erode vot- ing rights, even as at least two elections were stolen in 2018, those of Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Andrew Gillum in Florida. This Congress offers free- dom possibilities in resisting the insanity of a “wall” that the Great Negotiator (and purported author of The Art of the Deal) swore that Mex- ico was paying for. Not. This Congress offers freedom pos- sibilities in its efforts to pre- serve the Affordable Health Care Act and to move us to Medicare for all. This color- ful Congress (the pictures tell it all) offers a sharp contrast to the dismal (as in grey and navy suits) set of Republi- cans, overwhelmingly white and male, and overwhelming- ly staid. It’s not about MAGA (Make America Great Again), it’s about MAF, or Make America Fair. This is what Congress- man James Clyburn shared when he spoke at the ceremo- nial swearing-in. He opened with the words of French historian Alexis Toc- queville, who observed when visiting this country: “the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” Clyburn went on to list the many ways our nation has at- tempted to self-correct, from the passage of the Emancipa- tion Proclamation to the Su- preme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision declar- ing “separate but equal” to be “inherently unequal.” Clyburn talked about the Great Society legislation, an- other of our nation’s attempts at self-repair, and he conclud- ed by saying that, “America does not need to be made great again, she is already great. Our challenge is to make that greatness apply fairly and eq- uitably to all of our citizens.” Can this diverse new Con- gress make our nation fair for many who have never experi- enced our nation in the way it is supposed to be? In the words of Langston Hughes, “It never was America to me.” We’ve come a long way since he wrote his 1935 poem, but we still have so much to do. After these last two dystopian years, this new Congress of- fers us many possibilities. May they manifest! LOOKING BACK: In 2018, ‘Living While Black’ Stories Exploded on Social and Mainstream Media hether it was sitting at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, sleep- ing at college or simply walking to one’s apart- ment in one’s own building, a major social media trend emerged in 2018. That trend was: Documenting bias and micro-aggressions that would later be featured in main- stream media. Much of what was docu- mented was recording by the object so many have with them 24/7: Their cell phone. The wave of incidents docu- mented was not new — but the media attention on such sto- ries along with the responses that have followed signals a cultural shift that’s likely to last for years to come. There were multiple inci- dents.Below are six that made headlines and garnered wide- spread media attention: ac it Updated daily. to y • he 116th Congress, sworn in on January 3, is the most diverse our nation has ever seen. There are more women — 102 — than ever before. More members of the Congressional Black Caucus — 55 — than ever before. Indeed, a former Congressional Black Caucus intern, Lauren Underwood (D-IL) is part of the incoming first-year class. At 32, she is the youngest Black woman to serve. This Congress includes the first Native American wom- an, two Muslim women, open- ly gay representatives, and others. Much of this diversity was displayed at the ceremo- nial swearing-in of the Con- gressional Black Caucus, an inspirational event that pre- ceded the official swearing-in on Capitol Hill. There, as I listened to speeches by the top Congressional Democrats – incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA), incoming Major- ity leader Steny Hoyer (MD), and incoming Whip James Clyburn (SC), I was awash in hope and optimism. These leaders, along with outgoing Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (LA) and incoming Chair Kar- en Bass (CA) spoke of chal- lenge, struggle, and optimism and focused on possibilities. As I listened to them I could not help but think of the poet Langston Hughes, and his poem “Let America Be Amer- ica Again.” Written in 1935, W Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar in y o u r c o m m u n Opinion In April in Oakland, Califor- nia, Michelle Snider posted a YouTube video of Jennifer Schulte calling the police on her and her husband Kenzie Smith. Schulte dialed 911 be- cause she was upset they were Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Columnist BBQ’ing in a public park. The story quickly went viral and Schulte was tagged as “BBQ Betty.” In May in Connecticut, Sar- ah Braasch called the police on Yale graduate student Lo- lade Siyonbola. The problem? after she fell asleep in a com- mon room in her dorm. When police arrived, Siyonbola ran the conversation live on her Facebook Live. In May in Philadelphia, two men, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, were ar- rested at a Starbucks after an employee called the cops on them as they waited for a business meeting to begin. The multi-billion-dollar cof- fee chain would later close all of its stores to conduct train- ing for all their employees re- garding racial bias. In August in Madison, Wis- consin, Shelia Stubbs, who is the only African American on the 37-member Dane County Board of Supervisors, was cam- paigning in her district when someone called the police. “ The national political en- vironment has become contentious with Presi- dent Trump’s relentless focus on vil- ifying and stereotyping minorities In December in New Jersey, Andrew Johnson, a Black high school wrestler, was com- pelled to have an impromp- tu pre-match haircut after a referee with a racist incident in his past decided Johnson’s hair violated the rules. The referee, Alan Maloney, was later fired. In late December, a security guard at a DoubleTree Hotel called the police on Jermaine Massey as he used a phone in a lobby. Two employees were fired because of the incident. It was likely not coinciden- tal that such incidents have spiked on social media and in mainstream news during the presidency of Donald Trump. The national political envi- ronment has become conten- tious with President Trump’s relentless focus on vilifying and stereotyping minorities, particularly Mexican immi- grants, while at the same time failing to quickly and affirma- tively denounce racism and xenophobia. Hate crimes along with a resurgence of white suprem- acist groups have been re- corded by the Southern Pov- erty Law Center and other hate watchdog organizations. The incidents have highlight- ed the power of social media a few years after the birth of Black Lives Matter which also featured the power of social media content. nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve